The Blackout Club

The Blackout Club blends several genres together that are normally mutually exclusive and that daring approach results in one of 2019's best games. Its horror can bring your breathing to a halt. Its co-op is balanced and rewarding. Its immersive sim mechanics are smartly designed with benefits and detriments for every character build. On top of all that, the story, while slow to develop, is still worth the time it takes to unravel, and the world is oozing with atmosphere. Some relatively minor issues aside, The Blackout Club promises the best investigation is always the next one.

So while it's fun at first, The Blackout Club just doesn't have enough going for it to keep players engaged for longer than a couple of hours. The game becomes a boring, repetitive slog that gets less scary and more annoying the longer it's played. We once considered it one of our most anticipated horror games of 2019, but it fails to live up to expectations, to say the least.

The Blackout Club is a unique take on the horror-stealth genre as it allows players to group up and experience fear as a team. However, with the way the mission structure is set with no defined storyline and instead procedurally generated quests, it can feel a little monotonous at times, especially when you have to repeat similar objectives in different levels. All in all, the title itself is polished in terms of the mechanics it offers, but it's the art and sound design where it truly excels.